PBA: Brownlee, Ginebra expect tough duel vs No. 6 NLEX

Ginebra import Justin Brownlee. – PBA PICTURES

MANILA, Philippines–Barangay Ginebra settled for the No. 3 seed in the PBA Governor’s Cup on Friday night and will now take on No. 6 NLEX in the quarterfinals.

But somehow, resident import Justin Brownlee doesn’t see the defending champions as heavy favorites against the Road Warriors.

“We know it’s going to be tough,” he told reporters during the 114-105 loss to TNT at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

“At this point, it doesn’t matter [whom] we play No. 8, 7, six or (number) five, whatever.

It’s not even the second protection to beat that makes Brownlee feel good about Ginebra’s chances in the duel against NLEX set this Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“At this point, any game we play is not going to be easy, and we know that,” he said.

The loss to top seed TNT also showed the flaws in Ginebra’s game and Brownlee can only hope that his crew can close the gap before plunging back.

“Overall, we did a very good job, but the last part of the fourth quarter really hurt us. And our focus dropped a little bit, and TNT did a good job,” he said.

“We are a veteran team. I think we need to be smarter and more composed [less] turnover.”

Brownlee, who has been integral in Barangay Ginebra’s stranglehold of the third conference, also said there is only one way to chart this title-retention bid.

“There are no high expectations, only one winner [whoever] we play,” he said.

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